Duncan addresses Halloween photo

Tim Duncan padded over to address the media in bare feet Thursday at the Spurs practice facility, the picture of island reserve.

As someone who prizes comfort and privacy, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that Duncan views the leaking of a Halloween picture showing him and teammate Tony Parker holding toy guns to the head of a man dressed as NBA official Joey Crawford with a sort of resigned exasperation.

“It’s this day and age,” Duncan said. “It was a Halloween party in a private atmosphere. We were having fun. There was nothing to it. But this day and age, people want to blow things into something more than it is. Hopefully it’s gone and whatever is whatever.”

The photo, taken at a large Halloween party, began circulating last weekend via various message boards and the popular sports website Deadspin. The national and local media picked up on it not long after, prompting official no comments from the Spurs and the NBA.

Head coach Gregg Popovich said he hadn’t seen the photo when asked about it on Monday. Teammate Manu Ginobili, who attended the same party as Zorro, said the photo was “very innocent.”

“If somebody dressed like Pop was there,” he said, “I probably would have done the same thing with my little sword. I think it was a joke.”

With five days and two games having passed since the NBA became aware of the photo last Saturday, it’s looking less and less likely that the NBA will take any public disciplinary action. The biggest fallout could be that the already private Duncan will be even less likely to interact with the public — especially after his recent experience at a local drug store.

“You deal with it when it comes and try to take as little pictures as possible with people for that exact reason,” he said.